The Supercar Fest Sale 18th May 2024

The Supercar Fest Sale 2024 Cars 86 Registration: OOC 272X Chassis No.: SABTVR03015173292 Estimate: £75,000 - £85,000 Specialist: Harry Whale Telephone No: 07919 887374 Lot 255 1982 Rover SD1 Vitesse ‘Group A’ Works Rally Car Thought to be one of the first competition cars built under the Austin Rover Group Motorsport banner, this 1982 Rover SD1 was plucked from the assembly line for the purpose of competition. The car was originally destined for the gruelling Peking to Paris long-distance rally, the ultimate test of durability, and before being used in anger, the V8 SD1 was the subject of considerable testing and fine tuning to establish its suitability for the gruelling event. Sadly, the event was cancelled and the car was mothballed for a short time. However, Rover wasn’t going to see its efforts go to waste and after a short period in storage, handed the keys to motorsport legend, Tony Pond, who went on to campaign the car in the Century Oils and Pace Petroleum series of the early 1980s. Once Tony had had his fun with the car, Rover’s attention turned to Scotland where champion rally driver, Ken Wood, was a regular competitor in a V8-powered TR7, a current production model at the time. However, when TR7 production ceased it was important for a current BL product to be winning, so an agreement was struck between Ken and Rover to campaign the SD1. Ken came second in the 1983 Scottish Rally Championship and the car was then given a facelift to bring it in line visually with the company’s new Vitesse model, important for marketing purposes. In 1984, the car was once again campaigned through the stages of Scotland and this time, it won the 1984 Esso Scottish Rally Championship and the 1984 East of Scotland Rally Championship! After Ken Wood’s time with the car, it was sold into private hands. We pick up the story when its current long term owner found the car laid up in the back of a garage in Oldham. He verified the identity of the car and then set about an extensive restoration in which the car was returned to its original dimensions before being built back up into full Ken Wood, Golden Wonder specification. Now, the car exists as a functional show piece and has been used for several demonstration events. The restoration was impressive and is detailed on our website. Currently on SORN, the car is road-legal and ready to be used again. The history file contains its logbook along with documentation to support the competition life and results over its competition years, and a number of restoration photographs showing the amount of work that went into the rebuild. This venerable big Rover is part of British motorsport history and we welcome your interest and inspection. OOC 272X is the ex-Golden Wonder Austin Rover Motorsport Team factory car with an illustrious period rally history. More Details Lot 255 Bid On Lot 255